Cast and Creatives

Original Creative Team

Music and Lyrics – Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman

Shaiman and Wittman are two American composers who are responsible for creating some of the most impressive musicals of the past ten years. Television credits include the opening and closing songs for The Tony Awards Ceremonies which were performed by Neil Patrick Harris; The Academy Awards Ceremonies, Saturday Night Live and the Rosie O’Donnell Show. This past year they have written the soundtrack to hit NBC show ‘Smash’ starring Angelica Hudson and Megan Hilty, which has been commissioned for a second series. On stage they are best known for writing the hit musical ‘Hairspray’ which won the Tony Award for Best Musical, along with numerous performance awards. The show successfully transferred to London, and then became a blockbuster film starring John Travolta. After working on their next musical ‘Catch Me if You Can’, the pair were approached to work on the brand new stage production of Roald Dahl’s ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory the Musical‘ which is set to open in London’s West End at Theatre Royal Drury Lane in June 2013, starring Douglas Hodge as Willy Wonka.

Book – Terrence McNally

McNally is an American playwright who is no strange to large scale musicals. He is the winner of two Tony Awards and an Emmy Award, along with numerous fellowships. His career has spanned a number of genres including plays, musicals opera and television. His early musicals were in collaboration with composers Kander and Ebb, and include ‘Kiss of the Spiderwoman’ and ‘The Rink’. He is perhaps most well known for writing the book of ‘Ragtime’ with Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens, who he went on to work with again on ‘A Man of No Importance’. His 1995 play ‘Master Class’ has been revived numerous times in both London and New York.

Directed by – Jack O’Brien

O’Brien is the winner of three Tony Awards, along with another seven nominations. His career spans musicals, plays and operas and he is well known on Broadway for his involvement with many high profile productions. His most recent production was the ill-fated Andrew Lloyd Webber musical ‘Love Never Dies’ which premièred at the Adelphi Theatre in 2010. Having previously worked with McNally on ‘The Full Monty’, he also directed the original production of ‘Hairspray’ in both New York and London. One of his biggest projects included ‘The Coast of Utopia’ at the Lincoln Center for which he won the 2007 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director.

Choreographed by – Jerry Mitchell

Jerry Mitchell has worked with O’Brien on a number of shows including ‘The Full Monty’ and ‘Hairspray’. He is perhaps best known for his work on the original production of ‘Legally Blonde’ which opened on Broadway in 2007. In 2005 he won both the Drama Desk Award and Tony Award for ‘La Cage aux Folles’.

Original Cast

Norbert Leo Butz – Agent Carl Hanratty

Leo Butz won both the Tony Award and the Drama Desk Award for his performance as Hanratty in ‘Catch Me If You Can’. He also won the Tony Award for Best Actor for his performance in ‘Dirty Rotten Scoundrels’. Previous Broadway credits include ‘Rent’ and the original production of ‘Wicked’ which he created the role of Fiyero. No stranger to straight dramas, he has starred in ‘Speed the Plow’, ‘Dead Accounts’ and the ill fated Broadway transfer of Lucy Prebble’s play ‘Enron’.

Aaron Tveit – Frank Abagnale Jr.

Aaron Tveit is a Broadway performer with a wealth of experience in long running and well known musicals. In 2002 he joined the Broadway production of Hairspray as a replacement for Link Larkin, before going on to play Fiyero in regular intervals in ‘Wicked’. His biggest role came in the original production of ‘Next to Normal’ which opened at the Booth Theatre in 2009, before joining the company of ‘Catch Me if You Can’.

Tom Wopat – Frank Abagnale Sr.

Tom Wopat is a seasoned Broadway performer with a wealth of experience in both plays and musicals. He has been nominated for 2 Tony Awards and won a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Ensemble Performance in ‘Glengarry Glen Ross’. Before joining ‘Catch Me if You Can’ he was last seen on Broadway in the Sondheim revue show ‘Sondheim on Sondheim’ along with Barbara Cook, Norm Lewis and Vanessa Williams at Studio 54. Lead roles in ‘Annie Get Your Gun’, ’42nd Street’ and ‘A Catered Affair’ make up his wide body of work.

Kerry Butler – Brenda

Butler was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress for her role in ‘Catch Me if You Can’. Her first Broadway role was in 1987 with the company of ‘Les Miserables’, where she starred as Eponine. ‘Blood Brothers’, ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ followed soon after, along with the original company of ‘Hairspray’ and ‘Xanadu’.

Rachel deBenedet – Paula Abagnale

Rachel has starred in a number of Broadway musicals, such as ‘The Addams Family’, ‘Dirty Rotten Scoundrels’ and ‘Nine’.